It certainly did for me. It’s so easy to rattle o ff statis-

tics—120,ooo Japanese-Americans-but when you bring it

down to one person, you’re not talking numbers anymore,

you’re talking how something affected people’s lives.

I w anted to put a human face on this history, and the

objects do that. T hat’s w hat I like about the show s, the

book, the objects in the book. T h e artists are telling

their ow n stories. T h e y are revealing their personalities

through w hat they created.

I never fail to be amazed w hen I look at the w ork. I

put the book [and the exhibit] together, but I don’t take

credit for the objects. People w ho w ere in the camps

created these things, and they’re telling a very m oving

story. This story also raises a lot o f questions. W h at

happens to people w hen they’re put in these circum -

stances? W h ere does creativity lie? A re w e all capable

o f doing something like this?

I don’t know . I look at the w ork, and I think never in

a million years could I do that. T hen I think, w ell, this

artist was a fisherman; this one was a farmer. D oes the

ability to create beautiful things exist in all o f us?

+

Akira Oyc learned wood

carving at the camp in

Rohwer, ar, and made

many animal and bird

sculptures in camp.

After he was freed, he

never carved again.

dec/jann american craft 055